jenk0s
Likes Dirt
Item: Craftworks ENR V1.0 and V1.1
Purchased From: Craftworks Cycles
Purchase Price: $5500
Usage: 800km (V1.0) 400km (V1.1)
Pros:
Large changes in dynamic geometry gives a very playful yet stable bike at the same time.
Cons:
Interrupted seat tube prevents longer dropper posts from being used.
Comments:
The predecessor to the V1.1 garnered a lot of attention for its unique suspension platform. Unfortunately, it was a little ahead of its time and as such the V1.0 was a somewhat confused bike: cutting edge kinematics mated to dated geometry. Not anymore… As per the Craftworks website, the ENR V1.1 maintains the fantastic I-Track platform (and rear triangle) whilst upgrading the front end to ‘Pinkbike Specifications’ (read longer and slacker). Having spent considerable time now on both the new and old platforms, I figured I’d put my thoughts out there.
Starting out with the suspension design, the I-Track suspension platform is an extremely high virtual pivot bike with an idler pulley. Their website (https://www.craftworkscycles.com/pages/what-is-i-track-suspension) is really comprehensive and worth a read if you’re one to nerd out on suspension design. Bottom line is that it works. The unique characteristics are most apparent over sharp terrain, the bike maintains momentum and composure admirably, gliding would be the most fitting verb to describe the sensation it gives through rocks, roots etc. This is a product of the rearward axle path matching the direction of the force vectors from the trail and the low pedal kickback inherent to the idler pulley design. It’s worth noting that the bike responds well to being pushed: as the suspension compresses the chain stay length grows considerably, far more than other bikes on the market. This creates stability in the platform, a pretty fun trait to make use of on trails where I’d otherwise be pretty timid.
In terms of pedalling the bike goes pretty damn well too. I tend to use the lockout lever on stand up efforts but seated’s a dream. The anti-squat is consistently around 100% for all gears so this was to be expected. All the kinematic details are on Linkage Design (http://linkagedesign.blogspot.com/search/label/Craftworks Cycles). A common question I get asked is about the drag and noise created by the idler, I’d like to say that under ideal conditions there’s bugger all in it between this and a normal chain-line, but it is worth nothing that stuff can get stuck between the pulley guide and the pulley which makes a god awful screeching noise. It’s only happened twice in the past year, but it was damn frustrating. Overall, it’s a bike that has me reaching for the full face and DH runs when-ever possible, but I still ride predominately trail just due to local geography and that sums up the bike’s nature pretty well.
Comparing the V1.0 to the V1.1 is a matter of balance. At 184cm, by modern standards I was too tall for the V1.0. The 445mm reach had me hanging off the back of the bike which led to massive arm pump as I had to use my forearm strength to maintain a low posture over the bike and not ‘fall’ off the back. Compounding to this problem, I had to run rear sag numbers in the realm of 40% to get the front to rear balance (and dynamic head angle) I wanted with the 66.5 degree static head angle. As a result, I struggled to trust the front end as my weight was biased too far over the rear wheel and the rear suspension struggled to do its job properly as it didn’t have adequate travel left after sag to absorb bumps. In this setup, the bike felt a bit like a chopper (or old freeride bike) with a tall front end and low rear. It was great on point and shoot terrain but struggled when things got a bit more technical. That may all sound a bit negative, I was actually frothing on the bike at the time but now that I’ve tried the new one, I can definitely see where improvements have been made.
V1.1 boosted the reach up to 465mm and slacked the head angle out to 65 degrees. The arm pump issue has now been resolved and with reasonable sag numbers, suspension performance has been improved dramatically. Rough straight lines were my favourite sections of trail on the V1.0 but these days I’m finding corners to be the feature of choice. The front end just hooks up and the rear end carves really nicely. As I mentioned above, the chainstay length grows the more you push into the bike so pumping corners tends to generate a lot of traction and speed. What’s really addictive is unweighting the bike just before turn in so that the chainstay length shortens right up and then initiating the turn. The bike snaps into the corner with the reduced wheelbase then the suspension compresses and the bike extends into a nice controlled drift. It feels super natural and is very repeatable.
My only gripe with the bike in its current form is the location of the seat tube interruption due to the pivot placement in the I-Track linkage design. It’s quite high up which limits how long a seat post can be. Otherwise I’m bloody stoked with how the new model has turned out. Kudo’s to an Aussie brand for sticking one to the big players by making a bike that does what it says on the tin: knocking the socks off other rigs, and at a price point too!
My particular build is as follows:
Frame: ENR V1.1 Large
Shock: Canecreek DBIL Air (with needle roller bearings in the top eyelet – bloody oath they make a world of difference)
Fork: Rockshox Lyric RC (with a custom shimmed damper)
Wheelset: Syntace W35
Tyres: Assegai Front, Aggressor Rear
Brakes: Magura MT5
Drivetrain: Sram GX 11spd
Cranks: Sram XX1
Handlebars: Spank Virbrocore 775mm
Stem: Bontrager Line Pro 40mm
Seatpost: X Fusion Manic
Saddle: Bontrager Montrose
Pedals: Bontrager Line Elite
Pictures/Videos:
Purchased From: Craftworks Cycles
Purchase Price: $5500
Usage: 800km (V1.0) 400km (V1.1)
Pros:
Large changes in dynamic geometry gives a very playful yet stable bike at the same time.
Cons:
Interrupted seat tube prevents longer dropper posts from being used.
Comments:
The predecessor to the V1.1 garnered a lot of attention for its unique suspension platform. Unfortunately, it was a little ahead of its time and as such the V1.0 was a somewhat confused bike: cutting edge kinematics mated to dated geometry. Not anymore… As per the Craftworks website, the ENR V1.1 maintains the fantastic I-Track platform (and rear triangle) whilst upgrading the front end to ‘Pinkbike Specifications’ (read longer and slacker). Having spent considerable time now on both the new and old platforms, I figured I’d put my thoughts out there.
Starting out with the suspension design, the I-Track suspension platform is an extremely high virtual pivot bike with an idler pulley. Their website (https://www.craftworkscycles.com/pages/what-is-i-track-suspension) is really comprehensive and worth a read if you’re one to nerd out on suspension design. Bottom line is that it works. The unique characteristics are most apparent over sharp terrain, the bike maintains momentum and composure admirably, gliding would be the most fitting verb to describe the sensation it gives through rocks, roots etc. This is a product of the rearward axle path matching the direction of the force vectors from the trail and the low pedal kickback inherent to the idler pulley design. It’s worth noting that the bike responds well to being pushed: as the suspension compresses the chain stay length grows considerably, far more than other bikes on the market. This creates stability in the platform, a pretty fun trait to make use of on trails where I’d otherwise be pretty timid.
In terms of pedalling the bike goes pretty damn well too. I tend to use the lockout lever on stand up efforts but seated’s a dream. The anti-squat is consistently around 100% for all gears so this was to be expected. All the kinematic details are on Linkage Design (http://linkagedesign.blogspot.com/search/label/Craftworks Cycles). A common question I get asked is about the drag and noise created by the idler, I’d like to say that under ideal conditions there’s bugger all in it between this and a normal chain-line, but it is worth nothing that stuff can get stuck between the pulley guide and the pulley which makes a god awful screeching noise. It’s only happened twice in the past year, but it was damn frustrating. Overall, it’s a bike that has me reaching for the full face and DH runs when-ever possible, but I still ride predominately trail just due to local geography and that sums up the bike’s nature pretty well.
Comparing the V1.0 to the V1.1 is a matter of balance. At 184cm, by modern standards I was too tall for the V1.0. The 445mm reach had me hanging off the back of the bike which led to massive arm pump as I had to use my forearm strength to maintain a low posture over the bike and not ‘fall’ off the back. Compounding to this problem, I had to run rear sag numbers in the realm of 40% to get the front to rear balance (and dynamic head angle) I wanted with the 66.5 degree static head angle. As a result, I struggled to trust the front end as my weight was biased too far over the rear wheel and the rear suspension struggled to do its job properly as it didn’t have adequate travel left after sag to absorb bumps. In this setup, the bike felt a bit like a chopper (or old freeride bike) with a tall front end and low rear. It was great on point and shoot terrain but struggled when things got a bit more technical. That may all sound a bit negative, I was actually frothing on the bike at the time but now that I’ve tried the new one, I can definitely see where improvements have been made.
V1.1 boosted the reach up to 465mm and slacked the head angle out to 65 degrees. The arm pump issue has now been resolved and with reasonable sag numbers, suspension performance has been improved dramatically. Rough straight lines were my favourite sections of trail on the V1.0 but these days I’m finding corners to be the feature of choice. The front end just hooks up and the rear end carves really nicely. As I mentioned above, the chainstay length grows the more you push into the bike so pumping corners tends to generate a lot of traction and speed. What’s really addictive is unweighting the bike just before turn in so that the chainstay length shortens right up and then initiating the turn. The bike snaps into the corner with the reduced wheelbase then the suspension compresses and the bike extends into a nice controlled drift. It feels super natural and is very repeatable.
My only gripe with the bike in its current form is the location of the seat tube interruption due to the pivot placement in the I-Track linkage design. It’s quite high up which limits how long a seat post can be. Otherwise I’m bloody stoked with how the new model has turned out. Kudo’s to an Aussie brand for sticking one to the big players by making a bike that does what it says on the tin: knocking the socks off other rigs, and at a price point too!
My particular build is as follows:
Frame: ENR V1.1 Large
Shock: Canecreek DBIL Air (with needle roller bearings in the top eyelet – bloody oath they make a world of difference)
Fork: Rockshox Lyric RC (with a custom shimmed damper)
Wheelset: Syntace W35
Tyres: Assegai Front, Aggressor Rear
Brakes: Magura MT5
Drivetrain: Sram GX 11spd
Cranks: Sram XX1
Handlebars: Spank Virbrocore 775mm
Stem: Bontrager Line Pro 40mm
Seatpost: X Fusion Manic
Saddle: Bontrager Montrose
Pedals: Bontrager Line Elite
Pictures/Videos: